bright in a hollow sky

 Verity was quick to shake her head at him, “No, I was only joking.” She chuckled in response to him, “Besides, we do have enough snacks, there is enough to choose from.” Verity adjusted herself a little in the couch, sipping off her wine a little before putting the glass down on the table. “Just let me know if you get cold or anything. I have blankets around here somewhere.” She added, reaching over to grab a hold of some popcorn she’d made earlier. Letting her eyes wander back to the screen again. “Gosh, doesn’t this just make you miss New York?!” She exclaimed when the scene showcasing the city came on. 

“Oh I can imagine that in places like that, they would be so breathtaking, especially the country, I am just picturing just so many fields full of untouched snow. Oh that has me excited.” She laughed. “I would believe that it would be bad there, so many people just walking through it, turning it to mush.” she added. “I would say I would have to write that down, but I think I can remember that.” Kyla replied to him. “I bet they get a ton of it there.”

@bastnelson​

It had taken her a few days to decide if she wanted to text Bastian or not. Her friend hadn’t asked her to go out this weekend, but it was only a matter of time, right? Eventually, she summoned up the courage, knowing that the worst outcome was that he could say no. Now she stood in the lobby of her apartment building, bouncing on her toes as she waited. Isabelle smile as she saw him approach. “Hey! Okay, so I know you said that it didn’t feel very…holiday-like here because it’s so warm…so I was thinking we could go ice skating. There’s a, uh, indoor rink and I know it’s not in Central Park but…it could help, maybe? Um, or I have a bunch of Christmas movies upstairs and a bunch of snacks…” They’d been in the gossip pages a few times now, a fact she was embarrassingly aware of as he stood in front of her now. She’d understand if he didn’t want to be seen in public because of more rumors. 

 “Don’t say that! It may not be any left!” She laughed at her own joke before shaking her head ever so slightly while motioning into the living room. She looked back over at him, “No need, not unless you want to.” She said, feeling pretty relaxed about it as her flatmates did it all the time. “Oh no. Thanks though, but you are my guest, so it is no bother, really!” She insisted, smiling back at him, “A glass of wine, coming right up! I’ll have the same I think.” She added before walking over to the kitchen corner in the open space kitchen-living room area to get them a glass each, handing it to him while she took a seat on the couch. “Here you go. I already have the movie ready for us, so I guess I’ll just do this..” She said before pressing the play button on the controller. 

“It’s cool man, I got it, I’m just paying it forward,” Maverick offered with a smile. “I figured like, make someone’s day today, you know?” 

“How come?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She bit her lip. “Oh, uh, you don’t have to tell me. I fully recognize that it’s not my business.” Isabelle was curious though; she’d always been a curious girl. “Anyway…if you want to go up there at some point and I don’t have a work thing…I could probably drive up there with you. I know some really cool spots…or I could mark them on a map.” Bastian was being nice to her; the last thing Isabelle wanted was to seem overbearing. “I’ll give it a shot if I ever see you on the street,” she grinned. 

 Verity smiled back at him, looking over at the box once he had pointed it out to her, “Well in that case, I hope you are willing to share.” She teased, “Or trade! I did get some stuff, like crisps, popcorn and such.” She was quick to add, before walking into the living room area. “Can I get you a drink or anything? I have beer, water.. Maybe some wine?” She offered, “I ordered a bottle of coke with the food as well.. Hope that is okay.”

“Oh that’s fair. You’d be surprised how much smarter that is to do yet how many people never do it. Usually people donate what they bought and finished back to the library, which is still helpful and resourceful. But still, that’s money from your pocket if you didn’t like it. Anyways, I can show you where we keep the plays if you want to follow me. Do you prefer reading plays casually?” 

“Either it has and I was too young to remember or it has snowed and I have been out of town. I honestly never experienced it in San Francisco.” Kyla admitted as she ruffled her hair a little bit. “Oh so like if I were waiting for a bus and I just kept pacing up and down or jumping on the spot.” She asked trying to understand if she was on the right path or not. “I bet it’s already been a bit different, I think that’s why I want to see the snow, have a bit of a change from the heat.” 

  “That is good to know. I assume the alcohol hasn’t fully kicked in yet then.” She had laughed again at her own joke as it certainly had. She was a lot more confident whenever she’d had some liquid courage intact. “Sure, sounds good.” She had smiled back at him, not minding that at all as the crowd was starting to get to her a bit, “I have been busy. It seems everyone had their makeup done today and it left me little to no time to do my own, but I honestly don’t mind.” She usually wore little to no makeup anyway so it wasn’t a huge difference, besides her costume drew enough attention as it was. 

“Either works!” Sunwoo felt their voice strain a bit to remain kind. Maybe this person didn’t visit a library frequently. ‘I don’t know if you guys have plays here.’ Then why show up to a library to look if you weren’t sure? Why not go straight to a book store instead? Sunwoo made themselves smile a bit more, shaking the thoughts to give the other more benefit of a doubt. They didn’t know the other’s backstory and as Sunwoo always said, there was no such thing as a stupid question in a library. Which was also a lie, but —!  “We have an entire shelf for plays in the non-fiction section. It all depends on if you want a more modernized version of what you’re looking for or how the script was originally written. There’s some that have both side by side too. Is it for a school project?”

“Dude, it’s not a problem, really,” Mav responded with a bright grin. “You sure? Cause I can still pay?” He chuckled. “Listen, you’re busting ass, you deserve to take home that paycheck in full. Besides you gotta deal with these dickheads like Mr. Harvard at law over there. You deserve to brighten up your day.” 

Kyla looked over at the stranger and shook her head in reply to him. “No, I think I have only ever seen it in movies and on tv. We only ever got rain in San Francisco but if there was snow I must have been out of town for it.”She admitted,a gentle laugh escaping her lips. “Oh wow I hear that it gets super cold over that way. I do bet that the snow makes it tough at times.” 

 Verity waived down the bartender to quickly pay for her own drink, making sure to leave a decent tip, even though she’d only had one. Once she’d paid, she nodded at his words, “Sounds good.” She said before following him towards the exit, running a hand through her hair as she stepped outside and onto the street. “So, left or right you think?” She asked.

 Verity laughed at his words, “I mean, I might be intoxicated, but I am not dumb, no matter how debatable that might be.” She chuckled in response while poking his shoulder slightly with her index finger. “Sure, I’d like that.” She nodded, smiling ever so slightly back at him, “If you have anywhere in particular in mind, please lead the way.” She told him, as she was relaxed. “How have you been anyway?” She asked him out of curiosity, tugging a few strands of stray hair behind her ear.